Birth...... the ultimate journey that can not be planned!!!
We can write a birth plan, we can dream and speculate about how we would like it to be... but we can not REALLY plan it!!I write about this today to remind families that the only one who REALLY knows what is going on in there ( your uterus!), is THE BABY!!!!
Your baby can see, feel,hear, and taste a whole world that we will never again be able to experience, why should he not be the expert?! He knows how his placenta is attached, how his cord is inserted, if there are any knots in it, if it's wrapped around him, and when he needs to come out. Babies are true survivalists, they will manipulate things to keep them as safe as possible..... if only we listen!
This is the main reason that labor must be allowed to start on it's own, let the tenant decide, NOT the landlord! If mom or baby are in some major medical need for prompt delivery it will be MAJOR, not minor, not speculative, not "just in case". If you are considering an induction "because your doctor thinks it is best", how do you feel about that..... your doctor shouldn't just think... he should know, and by know I mean has evidence based information to support their thoughts. Medicine is a science, and science is supported by facts.
That said, doctors are human, and as humans we bring are own needs, wants, fears,and hopes. Past experiences color our decisions, like it or not. I feel it must be very challenging to have so much power and responsibility and be expected to base things purely on science. Can it be done...
This is why as parents and parents-to-be you must take responsibility for your health care, educate yourself, sharpen your intuition, and advocate for informed choice. Make health care a partnership, not a dictatorship.
OK, back to trusting your baby, body, and self. This now is NOT science, but art and FAITH. The intangible things...
What I have seen has taught me to trust BIRTH. If you are following Mother Nature's guide, you will get the kind of birth you need. ( Now this does not mean it is the kind you may want, key word here is NEED!)
Some ladies have fast, intense births, some long and mellow, some short and mellow, and some long and intense. All are great for different reasons... and only your baby knows....
I have seen short umbilical cords, cords not inserted in the best place, a knot in the cord, babies wrapped up in their cords like a Christmas present... and they all arrived safely, not because of medical intervention... on the contrary... in spite of them! These families trusted their baby and their body.
One mama that comes to mind had contractions that NEVER got closer together than 7-8 mins apart, but when she had one, it was nice and strong, and long. The hospital kept pushing Pitocin to "make them closer together". We discussed what did baby need...???
They (the parents) ,decided that as long as mom made progress, even if it was slow, that they did not want what was recommended.
She very nicely got to ten, pushed her baby out pretty quickly and easily, nice healthy baby. When her placenta delivered I saw something I had never seen... the cord was inserted not in the center of the placenta like it should be... it was in the membranes, barely hanging on to edge! Had this labor been pushed to be "harder and shorter" this kind of cord most likely would have caused compromise to the baby, if it actually snapped off, it would have compromised them both. My own baby, the last one, which was a very mellow and short labor, had a cord inserted in the margin of his placenta. Again, a baby that needed a mellow birth.
So try to trust your baby, he really does want to get here safely!!
Some babies make it very clear that they do not want out at all, staying firmly planted by position, not moving down, etc. Despite mom's best efforts, using every position on God's green earth known to man/woman, having all the time and support they need, they come out a different route. Sometimes that was what they needed as well.... trust your baby!
